This disclosure relates to wireless networking systems and techniques, namely, employing power management (PM) mechanisms in addition to receive operating mode (ROM) indication mechanisms so as to support ROM related outage periods enhancements between wireless devices. The techniques disclosed within this disclosure can also be used in wireless networks using wireless communication technologies mentioned herein.
Wireless communication, particularly wireless local area network (WLAN) technology, has become ubiquitous in the mobile computing environment. Some existing wireless networking standards, for example, WiFi protocol IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 can be used to provide wireless connectivity between wireless devices. In several instances, it may be necessary for devices communicating via a wireless network to dynamically update, adjust, or otherwise change their operational settings used for enabling the transmission and/or reception of data in wireless communication. ROM indication a management mechanism used in some 802.11 wireless technology standards, for example 802.11ah, in order for a device configured for wireless connectivity to signal a change in its receive (RX) parameters, namely a maximum operating channel width and a maximum number of spatial streams (NSS). According to some 802.11 wireless technology standards, a wireless device, for example a wireless station (STA) can transmit a frame or element, including a ROM indication, notifying other devices in the wireless network of its new ROM settings. Subsequently, it is required for other wireless devices, intending to transmit data for reception by the STA changing its ROM, to delay transmitting data until after expiration of an outage period needed for the STA to adopt the most recent operating mode configuration. However, it can be difficult to define a specified outage period to be globally applied to ROM indication mechanisms, as the time required to adopt ROM setting can vary based on a number of disparate variables. As an example, the time associated with reconfiguring the maximum number of active receive chains utilized by a device can differ from the time needed to configure the same device for use of a new channel width. In some instances, an outage time is a device specific characteristic that can change based on variables such as manufacturer or wireless antenna implementation.